Since its founding in 2013, Dactari (from the Swahili for animal doctor) Fine Spirits has been making wave in the handcrafted spirit market for their ecological business practices which include sustainable farming for their ingredients as well as reusable packaging, which is where this business really shines. Each of these drinks comes in an elegantly designed bottle that displays a uniquely stylized label complete with a dapper animal mascot, with their own story and connection to the drink. So, the question is, which animal speaks to your soul?
I Dream of Gini (€29.85) is their German style gin. Named for the famous 70’s TV show “I dream of Jeannie” this gin masterfully blends juniper, grapes, walnut, lemon and Benedictine herbs to create a balanced floral nose. The wasp adorns the packaging because of the sweet wine grapes used to craft this gin (a favorite of the bees). The taste is a mild flowery palate mixed with the classic juniper bite. Finally it hits you with a peppery finish that doesn’t wash out the juniper. Be careful with your tonic though; too sweet and you’ll lose all of the gin flavors to floral and sweet notes.
All About Woody (€26.85) is crested with a donkey, the classic beast of burden. Dactari went with the donkey (known as Woody) because of its role in harvesting the grain and grapes used to craft this incredible spirit. Distilled with nothing more than grain, grapes and water; All About Woody is an easy drinking vodka with soft floral notes that makes you question why anyone would use anything else to make the classic Russian drink.
Last but certainly not least is The Story of Kacato (€35.85), a cacao spirit. For this label, Dactrai went with a cockatoo, or kacato, to represent the journey the cacao bean make across the globe before becoming this incredible spirit. Every sip of this beverage evokes the colorful story and poetry of a journey across the globe. The nose is fragrant and intense with heavy aromatic cacao that leads to a silky smooth taste that finishes with a bittersweet, creamy chocolate finish.
Each of these delectable liquors comes either in a special bottle wrap or in black cardboard gift boxes. By doing this, Dactari hopes that you will keep their bottles around as either decoration or by upcycling them into something new. Either way, these bottles are meant to stick around for a while and not make their way to a landfill or recycling center anytime soon.
